Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-10-22
MARTIN, THE C0BBLER.

MARTIN, THE COBBLER-
| As far back rs can remember. havS ,
Always seen Martin, the cobbler, in hts
stall, nt the corner OF the public square OF
| my village. have always noticed him
! there, shoe firmly held between his
knees, bringing his tightly clenched fists
! together, bending his elbows. and plying
his awl with a regularity akin to that
Of the heavy brass pendulum in the Clock
case behind him, swinging tao, tao. tao,
ever reminding him Of the eternal monot-
ony of life.
Tao, tao. from left to right swings the
pendulum. elbows bend and fists come
/ together. Pan pan, the hammer falls;
| work progresses, but never ends. After
one shoe comes another Men walk and
! shoes are Worn ont. Pan, pan, down
and up, tao, tao from right to left. All
thy life. Martin, shalt thou ply thy awl
and WELD thy hammer. seated upon thy
low chair in thy narrow booth, at the
corner Of the public square. opposite the
church from which, on Sundays, escape
strains as monotonous rs the eternity
Of which they sing. as monotonous as our
/ mortal lives which are ever swinging. tao.
tao, from right TO left, from fear to hope!
In spring and summer the trees in the
square are clad in green; in autumn the
leaves fall: in winter the limbs are bare.
Tao, tao: all thy life, Martin. shalt thou
tug At thy awl and SWING thy hammer.
shoes wear out and men walk Work al
ways progresses. but never ends.
fl,,t ., L. oft l.. ~ l,
ground the shade is riddled with small
luminous spots which ever glide to the
right and TO the left obedient TO the wind;
and the cicada fills the air with its shrill
noise-an unchanging, jerky note. which
rises and fails as il ii fitted far, far
away, after having come SO near.
The month Of August slips by and the
iocusts disappear Floods come down
from the hills and inundats the plains.
About the village myriads Of frogs Set up
q loud, unccasing clamor, SO regular Il
racket, to which We get so accustomed
that, when asleep, a sudden cessation Of
it wakes us up with a start wondering II
anything unusual has occurred.
In the public square stands fountain.
From the center Of round pond arises
little column supporting a small basin
from which, through four pipes the water
flows and falls into the pond below with a
merry splash, which never varies. never
changes IL is ever the same monotOnous
.nirth, that makes us feel sad when We
remember that it is always thus, rs indif-
ferent to the departure Of the dead COW
cred with black pail and being conyeyed
through the public square to their last
resting place as it Is to the arrival of tho
new born babe carried to the church for
baptism.
The fountain with its four pipes is a
time keeper as well: il seems to mark the
four seasons: il points to the north to the
south. to the east and TO the west Its
waters rustic continuously, Just like the
leaves, like the frogs and like the locusts,
IKE the strains from the church, like the
pendulum, like old Martins hamme--
pan. pan. Shoes wear out and men travel
Work progresses, but is never finished
Old Martin has a wife, a good. economi-
cal wife Even on SUNDAYS he works
needless OF the cures remonstrances. III
did not work on Sunday, Monsieur lie
Cure, l would probably get tight" No
one has ever seen him drunk, not even his
happy wife, who adores him.
What does Old Martin think about rs
he plies his awl. as he Yields his hammer
"T.s odd he wishes to give up his stall
lie is planning to quit it altogether
From the square passers by who glance
at the little booth find it pretty, because
the glazed door. which is Just as wide as
the shop itself. is bor,iered with verdure,
and Old Martin on the inside, behind the
glass, in the center OF his frame Of flowers,
resembles n lielike picture, one of those
masterpicces to which the artist gives SO
much expression, such an appearance of
reality that n single glance gives us an i'll
sirht Of the life of the person rcpresented
his habits. even OF his very Thoughts.
ALWAYS uuchansin- lust like a painted
picture. Old Martin grows old us he plies
his awl From time 10 time he raises his
head casts hasty look at the square
where the fountain plays. where men
walk. How do. Pere Martini How
DIDO, how DIDO" They pass by and 90
about their business. They will come
back.
What are Old Martins thoughts SO
busy about He is thinking Of giving up
his little shop. He has had enough of il.
He feels that he is getting old. And it is
lust because he has had enough Of the
shop that he remains there; that he does
not move from il; that he is to he seen
there SO early in the morning and so late
at night. pegsing away! Martin works
hard now. SO as to be able to stop working
some day. His plans are all laid out. He
is saving money. Pan. pan, During a
whole lifetime he will drudge. so as to
have, at the end. a few happy days with
out work, when he will change his quar-
tiers and no longer have to say: Walk
in, walk in: we will see about it-' or
"The lowest price is six francsr' or .How
DIDO. how l'dor' to each passjnC war-
oner,
Tho, la will have oorJ>n l;..lo